


Next Door Neighbors

by MissMina1385



Category: Original characters - Fandom, fandomless OC - Fandom
Genre: Budding Romance, Coffee Shop, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 22:32:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17989733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissMina1385/pseuds/MissMina1385
Summary: Two store owners, one offering the other to promote goods, budding romance





	Next Door Neighbors

Nic had come over to Gathering Grounds, the coffee shop next door, to see if Will needed any more complimentary soap or lotion for the bathroom. At first she’d been quite hesitant to ask if she could have some of her stuff in his place, as a form of advertising for her shop. Being a shy girl, and doing what most would call witchcraft, made it even scarier to ask about what amounted to him endorsing her and her product. Just because her shop was called an apothecary didn’t mean there weren’t rumors.  
To her surprise, Will was quite happy to let her put soap and lotion in the bathroom. And the patrons of the coffee shop quite liked it too. The women especially liked the moisturizing of the lotion. She had brought the usual autumnal pumpkin spice when she’d approached him, year before last. Then a lovely winter berry over the holiday season. Rose scent over Valentines, shifting to a lovely, and wildly popular lemon mint in early summer, a sunflower blend for late summer, and then the pumpkin spice in the fall once more.  
“I can’t believe it’s been over a year that you’ve let me supply your customers with a sample of my soap and lotion,” she said, shifting the new bottles in her hands. Deep winter was finally lifting, and so again she had the energizing lemon mint.   
“It’s been a great hit. People love it. I’ve heard folks telling each other they come here instead of making coffee at home just to see what the new scent is,” he said, smiling as he set a cup of steaming water and a mint tea bag in front of her. She, was about the only person that ever didn’t drink coffee in their small town.   
“Honestly, I came in that time, telling you we’d run out, because I kinda took the bottles home,” he said, hiding his own blush in his cup of coffee.  
She laughed, shaking her head. “Oh so that’s why it went so fast! And here I thought it was due to that cold weather, bringing more folks in to get a hot drink!” she said, winking. Now she had to remember what she’d brought before he came in. “It was this one, wasn’t it? The lemon mint. You made the available product disappear, thus forcing the populous to come into the store to even smell it…”  
He paused, thinking. “I never thought of it that way. I guess I did. My mother absolutely loved the rose one. Insisted I tell her right away where I got it. I said the lady next door sells it. It’s right on the label. You know what she said to me? ‘There’s no way something this fancy comes from a local store. Now come on, where did you really get it?’.”  
Nic blushed again, and smiled. “Moms can be hard to convince. Why didn’t you just bring her over one night when the coffee shop wasn’t busy?”  
“I tried! I even pointed out the label, and how the address was only one door down. She wouldn’t believe me, wouldn’t even step foot outside,” he said, exasperated. “So to convince her I ordered her the rose set online, and had it shipped directly to her. She still thinks it’s some elite online only place, so I guess that idea backfired. But at least she’s happy.”  
She laughed, shaking her head. “Well, you really didn’t have to do that. I could have shipped it directly from the store. And I wouldn’t have charged you for it either. You’re being kind enough to let me set samples out, so you should get some complimentary goodies as fair compensation.”  
“Oh, no, Miss Quinn, I could never!” He said, shaking his head.  
“Will, how many times do I have to tell you, Nic is fine.”  
“At least once more, Miss Quinn,” he said, not missing a beat.  
“My name isn’t Elizabeth, or Swan. And yours isn’t Turner,” she teased, her green eyes twinkling.  
He grinned, shifting in his seat. “I’m surprised you got that reference. The original came out quite a while ago.”  
“Yes, well, I have a weakness for handsome men named Will,” she teased, which made him shift more.  
She took another sip of tea, enjoying things maybe a touch too much. “Should I bring more of this lemon mint over then, since it was so popular not only here, but in my store as well? And I have some calming lavender, but I’m not sure if that would be wise. Coffee is consumed for the caffeine, so lavender, which is meant to calm, would counteract it, don’t you think?”  
He was grateful for the change of topic. “Uhh, I don’t know. Maybe?” he said, sitting back in his chair. “Well, I know how much I like watching your already pretty green eyes light up when you bring me a new blend you’re really excited about mastering. It may not make sense to me, but when you explain what it is, and what it does, I can see how happy you are,” he said, blushing slightly.  
Remember that day, I came into the store? I hung back, let a couple other ladies go first, just to watch. They told you what their issue was, and you immediately knew what to give them. Your instructions were clear, concise, but still friendly. It didn’t feel like being given medicinal advice. It felt like I was watching two women gossip about a cake recipe.”  
He paused, looking up at her briefly. “You have a gift. I watched you move through your shop, not even having to look where you were going. Just reach out, and know the bottle you grabbed was the right one. I’ve never seen anyone so versed in their field do what you do. I wish I had half the knowledge you do.”  
Of course by now her cheeks are as hot as the tea had been. “I, uh, don’t think your profession and mine can be compared. Yes, there is a technical aspect, but I think that what you do takes much more feeling. You have to trust your gut. I can’t just do that. Because if I do, I could give someone something very bad. You make flavorful, beautiful, drinkable art. My lotions and soaps must be so technically perfect that even if you do end up with it in your eye, you’ll be fine.”  
He’d never really understood the process involved in making the bath things, balms, room fragrances, all the wonderful smelling things in the shop. True, his coffee could burn your mouth if you drank it too hot, but her things could be far more deadly if handled improperly. People were soaking their bodies in it. Using it to wash their hair. Or smooth on their skin when the pores were open after said soak. While there were plenty of regulations she had to meet, he’d never really paid attention to all the certificates around the antique cash register in the shop.   
He smiled, leaning forward and wrapping his hands around his mug. “And yet you think that what I do is somehow fancier. I don’t have to worry about killing someone if they’re allergic to an herb. Worst thing to happen here is a bout of lactose intolerance. I don’t allow nuts in here, the only other common allergen. You have to keep hundreds of herbs, spices, flowers, and whatever else you use clear in your head to know what is safe for each person.”  
“Well, when you put it that way,” Nic said, sighing as she leaned on the table, clasping her hands in front of her tea cup. “There’s not a lot of people coming into the shop lately, right after the big holiday push. So I have some time to catch up, make more product. Test new blends, refine old ones. You should come over some night, after you close up. I close at 7, but I’m usually there a while after that, working in the basement. You’d get to see just how it’s made, maybe even make a batch of the rose your mother likes so much. It’d be quite difficult to believe it’s an online only store if you made it yourself,” she said, smiling softly.  
“I would like that. I know your shop is closed Sunday, but will you be working in the afternoon?” He closed up at 4 on Sundays, so he could come over after that if she would be there.  
“Oh yes, I’ll be there still. I’m trying to make a nice rejuvenating citrus blend, but it keeps coming out too sweet,” she complained, pouting slightly.  
“It’s because you’re making it,” he said, smiling.   
At first she frowned, not understanding what he meant. But when she got it, she blushed, awkwardly handing him her tea cup as he began to clear their dishes. “I’ll see you Sunday then?” she asked, getting up and heading towards the door.  
“Yes, I’ll be there!” he said, giving her a small wave as she left, then placing the new soap and lotion in the cabinet in the bathroom for when the current ones ran out.


End file.
